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As I was reading that part, I assumed the baby represented the bit of Voldemort's soul which had been embedded in Harry. Once Harry allowed himself to be "killed", the bit was liberated into a separate being which wasn't able to go back.

That meant Harry's soul could return to the living finally free of the whole "both must die" issue, and it got rid of the unintentional Horcrux which could've allowed Voldemort to stay alive.

A gross, malformed crying baby that is really a part of someone's disgusting soul AND that bit is forever stuck in limbo crying is pretty grotesque and outlandish ;) Oh, can't forget that for each split of that soul he had to commit murder...

JKR was saving the really outlandish part for the "Whose Wand Is It Anyway" bit at the end.

Now, what was totally distracting was envisioning the whole Harry Potter naked in the mist scene, after all those Equus posters. I had to go back and start the chapter from scratch at least three times .....

I thought it was the part of Voltemort's soul that lived in Harry. I also think that it represented what Voltemort's soul would be reduced to for eternity if he didn't find something in him that resembled love (which is why Dumbledore was ignoring it and why Harry found it easier as Dumbledore talked and explained things to him), which is why Harry told Voltemort that he ought to try to feel some remorse before their big battle.

As I was reading, I kept thinking... they are about to kill one another, but they are really OK with all the wand exposition? For real? I would have rather the battle been quicker and we get the description afterward or something. It felt like "I'm gonna kill you, but let me tell you why first... and how."